RCA Theremin Service Notes

RCA’s Service Department originally printed these service notes as a stand-alone document. It was subsequently reprinted as part of the RCA Victor 1929–1930 Service Notes, available to authorized field service radio technicians. Originally meant to acquaint them with the theremin’s unconventional circuitry and to facilitate repairs, it is safe to say that very few of the RCA Service Notes’ original readers ever actually encountered a theremin. Original copies of the higher quality standalone RCA Theremin Service Notes are now exceedingly rare.

The document provides a wealth of information, including schematics, line illustrations and photographs of the RCA Theremin and its various components. You will also find critical details about the function and adjustment of each and every key circuit, including internal operating voltages and a troubleshooting chart.

This new edition has been exactingly recreated by designer and theremin authority Mike Buffington. It matches the original and extremely rare first printing document to the very last detail, including faithful, full-fidelity recreations of the higher resolution first edition photographs. Additionally, a small number of material errors in the original have been corrected to aid contemporary owners of RCA Theremins, as well as experimenters who wish to recreate the instrument using authentic specifications.

For electronic music enthusiasts and collectors of ephemera, this beautiful document is as valuable today as when first published. It provides a fascinating window into the birth of electronic music, when pioneering inventor Leon Theremin offered the world what is still perhaps the most magical electronic musical instrument of all time; the only one that’s played without touching it.

More information about the RCA Theremin at www.rcatheremin.com

To learn more about Forgotten Futures, please visit www.forgottenfuturesmusic.org